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May 03, 2018 Various Artists By Frank Valish

One of two recent compilations of Elton John cover songs, Revamp finds current artists taking their turn with mostly well-known Elton John classics. As is the case with many covers albums, Revamp is a mixed bag. Several of the artists here take chances with the tunes, and at times are wildly successful. Pink and Logic take “Bennie and The Jets” and make it a dance track, completely reinvigorating the song, incorporating John’s own vocals and making it fresh and infinitely fun. And Mary J. Blige turns “Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word” into a ‘90s R&B ballad.

When things are bad, however, they are bad. Mumford & Sons and Florence + The Machine deliver staid versions of “Someone Saved My Life Tonight” and “Tiny Dancer,” respectively. Ed Sheeran’s “Candle In the Wind” is clumsy and awkward. And Sam Smith’s “Daniel” is unnecessary at best.

Several versions here, while perhaps not creatively adventurous, are laudable for different reasons. Coldplay’s “We All Fall in Love Sometimes” takes the Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy ballad and amps up the emotion not in bombastic balladry but in minimalist fashion with haunting vocals wrenching a lonely sadness out of the lyric. The Killers bring the sort of earnestness to “Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters” that only they can provide. And somehow Miley Cyrus is the perfect person to sing “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me.”

Plus, Queens of the Stone Age doing “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road?” Where else are you going to find that sort of thing? (www.eltonjohn.com)

Author rating: 5/10